title: Evaluation of the Practice Pattern of Medical Patients' VTE Prophylaxis With a Standard Risk Assessment Model Form: MERAM Study.
abstract: Hospitalized acutely ill patients face high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) unless appropriate thromboprophylaxis is applied. This study aimed to determine VTE prophylaxis practices for inpatients in Turkey and to evaluate the impact of physicians' training via a modified "Standard Medical Patients' VTE Risk Assessment Model (MERAM)." A total of 607 inpatients included in this national multicenter noninterventional observational registry were evaluated in terms of demographics, VTE risk, and preventive measures at 2 consecutive cross-sectional visits. Physicians were asked to complete a questionnaire on current VTE method risk assessment and other models including MERAM. The VTE prophylaxis rates significantly increased from 49.4% to 62.4% between visits (P < .05). The lack of risk evaluation decreased from 74.6% to 19.5% (P < .001). Percentage of physicians using prophylaxis and use of MERAM increased between visits. Physician training proved effective for providing general "awareness" of VTE prophylaxis and led to higher rates of risk assessment model-based appropriate VTE prophylaxis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey gulongen@mynet.com.
authors.forename: Gul
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ongen
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Molinas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Birsen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ince
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeki
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ongen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: hospitalization; medical ward; physician training; risk assessment; thrombosis prophylaxis; venous thromboembolism